The Loneliest People
by Batman Lamp-Writer
Summary: Three hundred years is a long time to be invisible, unseen to children and adults alike. But at least there were the other immortals for Jack to bother, people that he could be himself around. For the past 100 years, all Danny has had is the quiet... and the nightmares.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, I'm obsessed, I admit it. I have seen this movie nine times since December 4th, and the only reason I haven't seen it more than that is because I also went to see Les Mis twice. Is there an RotG Anonymous somewhere?

Also, my other stories are still being worked on. My profile page will let you all know which stories are in the works, which are on hiatus, and which are up for adoption. If you want day-to-day reports of how a story is coming, check out my Twitter page, ElphieBLW.

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"_The loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see anyone else suffer the way they do."_

—_Anonymous_

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Jack Frost hadn't gotten to see the light show last time—understandable, really, seeing as the light show was for _him_ back then—but he'd expected… more. In fact, this was downright _disappointing_.

"That's it?" he exclaimed to the other four guardians, none of which seemed as upset by the lack of cool, glowy… er, things. "What about the light image? Or the ice diamond thing? I thought you guys said it was _impressive_ when the Man in the Moon picks a new guardian!"

"It is," North (aka Santa) stated. "Man in Moon not choosing guardian."

Not for the first time, Jack found himself annoyed at the way the Russian dropped words when speaking. "What do you _mean_, 'Not choosing guardian'?" he demanded, putting on a decent impression of the jolly man's accent. "I thought that was why you'd called us here—for a new guardian!"

Not that he minded one way or the other. He was still a bit new to this whole socializing thing.

"Aye, mate," E. Aster Bunnymund, the giant, grumpy Pooka in charge of Easter, complained. But what else was new? "If it ain't a new guardian, whatdja call us for?"

"_This,_" North whispered, waving a hand towards the globe in the middle of the room.

It sat right under the skylight which the Man in the Moon communicated through, lit by millions of lights on each continent. Er—except Antarctica. Kids these days just didn't enjoy the cold there as much as Jack did. Now, even Manny was illuminating the globe.

The five Guardians just stared, most looking confused as North grinned at some secret he shared with the Moon.

"Oi," Bunny finally grumbled, "what're we lookin' for?"

North shook himself out of whatever trance Manny had him in to point at one of the lights. "Right there," he declared, "is what we are looking for."

Jack and Tooth floated up for a better look. Well, Jack floated, the Tooth Fairy flittered on her wings. There, in a small patch of about three lights in the western part of Africa, was a small, insignificant—

"Green light?" Tooth mumbled. "Why's it green? How could that happen? Lights are supposed to be yellow! How does one just _turn_ green?" She spoke, as per usual, at a mile a second, bursting out all her questions in a single breath.

But she had a point.

The Guardians all turned to face North, knowing that if Manny'd given the answers to anyone, it'd be him. Sure enough, he chuckled before responding. "That light," he said, "is special. Is not by child."

"So, an adult that believes?" Jack stated blandly. Adults were no fun, regardless of their beliefs.

North grinned brightly. "Is not by adult, either."

Now they were back to being confused, a golden, sand-made question mark popping up over the Sandman to assert his own bewilderment.

"If it's not by a kid," Bunny began, "and not by an adult, either, then… whose light is it?"

North's grin only widened. "That is what we find out!"

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The problem with their fool-proof plan of hunting down the green light was quickly discovered upon arrival in the small village of Kpalime.

"Um, North?" Jack mumbled to the large Russian. "How do we ask around when the only people who can see us are _kids?_" And not many, at that. Sure, there were quite a few children in the town, but only a handful believed. Those few were quick to notice the Guardians, crowding happily around the Big Four.

Jack didn't mind being ignored too much, given their proximity to the equator. These children had never even _seen_ snow, so why would they know about the one who brought it? But he definitely minded the heat.

"_Why _did we need to come during the middle of their summer again?" he complained.

Bunny smirked, all too glad to tease the winter sprite. "What, too hot for ya, mate?"

Jack jabbed his staff at the pooka, but instead of freezing him, the staff just glowed weakly before the gathering frost evaporated. The eternal teen just sighed, too tired to bother with another comeback. Instead, he looked to the others for an answer.

Images sparkled to life over Sandy's head. First, a crescent moon, then the sleigh, with all of them on it (Jack chuckled as the Sand-Bunny freaked out much like the real Bunny), and finally a map of Togo with an X where the village was.

"Uh…" Jack turned once more, this time to North, who smiled. Even after a hundred years, Jack still had problems translating the sand images.

"Man in Moon told us to, so here we are," the Russian replied simply.

"Still, this couldn't wait another month or two?" Jack totally wasn't whining. "It's not like this weird light'll up and leave!"

Bunny just continued to smirk, knowing how unhappy Jack was.

"Jack brought up good point," North stated.

Bunny's smirk fell. "N—No, he didn't! That light coulda moved already for all we know!"

North waved a hand. "Not about that!" Now he had all their attention. "How do we find light when we can't be seen?"

Looks were exchanged, various plans running through each Guardian's head before being dismissed. Sandy shrugged, giving a nervous smile.

"Well," Tooth said, grinning in embarrassment, "Manny told us to come here, maybe _he_ has an idea."

As one, they all faced the east, where Manny was just starting to emerge. They thanked whatever helped them arrive just in time for night, otherwise they'd've had a ridiculously long wait.

"Man in Moon," North called up to him, "please, give us way to find information on green light."

For a moment, there was nothing. Then, a beam of moonlight shown directly on North, followed a moment later by one shining on Jack. The two remained still, knowing that some type of magic was in the works, until the lights faded away.

There were gasps and murmurs (and sand pictures) from the other Guardians as the two came back into view. No one spoke, all five in awe of what had happened.

And then Bunny laughed, a paw clasped around his aching ribs. "Crikey, mate, look atcha!" he exclaimed, pointing at Jack.

The teen now wore a black muscle shirt and board shorts, his feet still bare, and his hoodie gone. The frost that normally decorated his clothes was gone, melted away into water that had immediately soaked into the fabric. Jack glared back at Bunny. "Shut up, Kangaroo!"

Bunny bristled, snarling back, "How many times do I gotta tell ya, I'm _not_ a _kangaroo!_"

"Quiet!" North ordered, causing the attention to shift to him. He, too, had gotten a change of clothes during the lightshow, trading his heavy coat and boots for a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. Not quite as funny a change as Jack's, but it still gained a few chuckles. "Manny has given us ability to be seen by all. We must go find light, quickly, before magic wears off!"

Jack gaped at the man. "You mean, we're _stuck like this?!_ For how long?!"

"One week," came the ominous (to Jack) reply. The teen just groaned, even more annoyed at the situation now. He missed the cold, he missed his lake, and he missed his hoodie, dammit.

The others nodded, heading back into town, Tooth dragging a protesting Jack along with them.

It was going to be a long week….

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Three days. That was as much as Jack could stand before he needed the cold again for fear of melting.

So, he called on the winds and summoned as much snow as he could manage so near the equator. It wasn't much, but soon a light dusting of snow was falling on Kpalime, Togo.

It was just enough to panic the locals, who, having never seen the white powdery stuff in person, believed it to be a sign of the apocalypse. After a full day of snowfall, a town meeting was called.

The Guardians, of course, attended. Jack seemed happier, even if all four had scolded him for the blatant use of powers, and North was ready to use this opportunity to seek out the light. The whole town had shown up, the few children who could see them crowding around the three invisible Guardians.

The meeting progressed simply enough. The chief spoke in depth with North and Jack, who were quick to assure them that it was just an odd weather pattern, not a sign from God that they were all going to die. They had just gotten the people calmed down when the door burst open and in stormed a young teen.

The boy had black, shaggy hair, sky blue eyes, and skin almost as pale as Jack's. A perpetual glare seemed to be on his face as he stormed forward.

The Guardians stared in shock as the teen started jabbering away at the chief in the tribal language of the town. Due to the bilingual state of the children there, the Guardians only understood their main language of French. Tribal languages required actually learning rather than just _knowing_ due to Manny's magic. As such, they had no clue what was being said.

Until the chief switched back to French, saying, "The _yohvos_ told us it was the weather." The boy just glared, and the chief seemed to backpedal. "What does Tueur say?"

The whole building went silent, all turning to face the boy, whose eyes had slipped closed. A long, soft sigh escaped him before his eyes snapped back open. "The _yohvos_ speak the truth," he said in an indiscernible accent. "Tueur says the snow will melt and drain away. In the meantime, he suggests to layer clothes as it will be cold. _Very_ cold."

All the people nodded hurriedly, mothers rushing off to bundle up their children and bring back extra clothes for their husbands. The men turned back to the boy once more, the chief speaking for them all. "Thank you, diviner."

The boy nodded now.

"But… what brought you into town today? You were last here many days ago."

Another soft sigh echoed through the room. "I tore through some pants." He held out the damaged fabric to the chief. "I was hoping one of the seamstresses could fix it."

The man took the fabric from the boy. "Of course, diviner. You know you need only ask." Then, his face turned a bit anxious. "And… is there anything Tueur desires?"

The boy blushed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well… he appreciated those beignets you sent before."

All the men grinned at that, recognizing the action. "Of course," the chief replied, "we will send him more. Maybe even enough for two?"

Red spread a bit more noticeably across the teen's face. "Th—Thank you, Mawuena, you are most generous."

The chief, Mawuena, grinned, then clapped his hands. "Ketevi, give this to your wife to be mended," he declared, handing over the torn pants to a man who left with a slight bow. "Diviner, come meet the _yohvos!_ You will find them to be much friendlier than your line has been." This last was said with a slight smirk to the boy as Mawuena led him to North and Jack. "Diviner, these are Nicholas St. North and Jackson Overland," the chief introduced with a wave of the hand to each.

The boy nodded, then jabbered for a moment to the chief in the tribal language, seeming to ask him a question and nodding upon receiving an answer. Then, he turned back to the two visible Guardians. "Hello," he said, speaking English, again without an accent, "I am Danny, though these men consider me a diviner for a spirit in the woods because I am the only one who can live there peacefully. What brings you two to Kpalime?"

"We are just visiting," North answered, also in English, though his own accent bled into the words.

The boy, Danny, looked unconvinced. "Not exactly a major tourist area, Kpalime. Why are you _really_ here?"

As North opened his mouth to reply, Jack jumped in. "We were told we could find a friend here, but so far, we've had no luck."

Danny nodded at this. "It is quite possible that your friend has gone on to another town. When is the last you heard they were here?"

"Almost a week ago," Jack stated.

Now, Danny frowned. "Odd…" he mumbled before shaking his head. "You should ask the chief if anyone has come and gone in the last week. He makes it a point to learn who all is in town at all times."

"Thanks!" Jack dragged North towards the chief, effectively ignoring the boy.

As such, neither noticed as the boy simply faded out of sight.

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A/N: Alrighty! To answer some questions that'll probably come from this, yes, Kpalime, Togo, is a real place, I've actually visited there briefly, but am taking artistic license with how their village runs in this story. Also, their tribal language is Mina, and some Mina words/names will be used throughout this fic. "Yohvo" is a term used for white visitors in certain areas of Africa (Benin and Togo, definitely, and I'm not entirely sure where else), and "Tueur" is French for killer. I have about half the next chapter written down, and the entire story is plotted out. It's probably going to be a long one, but with shorter chapters and a week to a month between updates (anyone who's followed me before will know that this is about the norm, if not more frequent than I usually manage).

Um, yeah. Now I'm off to work on other stories…. Read and review, please?


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Do _NOT_ expect updates this frequently on a regular basis! I got really lucky to have a decent space of time along with my notebook handy. I've only just started work on chapter three, and I plan to update another story first, so there _will_ be a delay for the next chapter.

That said, enjoy!

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It had been a long time since anyone had last been looking for Danny Fenton. Admittedly, the two didn't give a name for their friend, but Danny knew for a fact that he was the only one who had been in and out of the town in the past week. As he told the others, Kpalime wasn't exactly a tourist trap. Still, maybe they had their times confused?

But, what, then, would explain the giant rabbit, bird-lady, and golden man he'd seen as he floated, invisible, through the town? Obviously none of the adults could see them, but only a few kids had noticed, as well. Danny, being well-versed in the supernatural, knew who they were, of course. And two of them even made _sense_.

But what the _hell_ was the _Easter Bunny_ doing here in _January?_ Easter was still a good three months away (or four, Danny had always been awful at keeping track), shouldn't he be off painting eggs or something?

Of course, this also brought the two visitors into question. Why were they _really_ here? Were they truly looking for him? If so, why? And why did it only snow (a scientific and ecological impossibility this close to the equator) after they had arrived?

After a few hours contemplating these questions, Danny came to an obvious (to him) conclusion. The two visitors, Nicholas St. North and Jack Overland, must also be supernatural beings. Once this leap of logic had been made, it was easy to figure out who they truly were. After all, the three invisible tourists were a big clue.

Santa Claus and Jack Frost had come to their village, after Christmas and in the middle of their summer. Given the presence of the other immortals, it was painfully obvious that this wasn't a coincidence. They were here for a reason.

They were looking for someone, and from the description given, that someone was _him_. There was only one option for him.

He had to run.

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To say the chief was surprised by the questions asked by the visitors would be an understatement. However, he'd always known this day would come.

The stories of Tueur and his Diviner had been passed down through the four generations that had come since the day the spirit was first seen. All stories spoke of the sad spirit with electric green eyes that were constantly moist and the black-haired teen who lived in the forest that Tueur had taken over. Each one told of how the Diviner was the only one allowed in Tueur's forest, how he had earned that right by speaking for the spirit. Occasionally, the stories would even bring up the Diviner's companion, an odd, yellow-eyed horse only ever seen from the corner of your eye.

But one thing never changed about the Diviner in the stories: his age. When he was first seen, he claimed to be fourteen, but after ten harvests had passed, he still looked the same as he had then. Most simply believed this to be some magic or illusion on Tueur's part to keep his Diviner looking the same age as him.

But Mawuena and his family knew better. Sure, the first Diviner was a hundred years ago. Sure, the town believed this Diviner to be the great-grandson of the first, but Mawuena knew the truth.

There were no sons or grandsons. There was no passing down of the title. The boy, Danny, was the same person as the first Diviner.

And Mawuena had always known the day would come when people would be looking for him.

He just never suspected it to be a man who looked like Père Noel and a skinny teen who hated their weather. And they were _very_ persistent.

"You really can't think of _anyone_ who was here last week but not now?" Jack demanded, highly annoyed to face another dead end.

"I'm sorry," Mawuena replied, "I cannot."

"Not even one who _sort of_ fits description?" the Russian tried, a bit less whiny than the teen.

"No. Well…." the chief trailed off, wondering if he really should tell them.

"Well what?" both exclaimed, excited for a possible lead.

"There is one who was not here for most of the week."

"_Who?_" Jack eagerly asked, leaning in closer.

"The Diviner."

Only Jack's hundreds of years of parkour let him keep his balance as shock threatened to tip him over. "_What?_" he exclaimed. "But—he's the one who told us to ask _you!_"

"He is a very private person."

"How do we find Diviner?" North asked, quite a bit more calmly than Jack would've.

Mawuena frowned. "You don't."

"_What?!_"

"He lives in Tueur's forest, and is the only one allowed to do so."

Jack rolled his eyes. "We don't plan on moving in. We just wanna _talk_ with the guy!"

"As I said before," Mawuena nearly growled, "he is very private. If he wishes to speak with you, _he_ will find _you_."

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North and Jack were quick to leave after their less-than-helpful talk with the chief. Then, they made their way back to the small hotel room they had rented for their stay.

The others were already waiting there. "So?" Bunny demanded as soon as they walked in.

"It's Danny," Jack stated bluntly, flopping down onto one of the beds.

"_What?_" Tooth gasped, flitting over to Jack. "But, he didn't _seem_ any different than the other kids! A—And he couldn't see us!"

"Or he hid the fact he could," Jack grumbled, crossing his arms in a huff. The kid had seemed like he'd be fun to hang out with, but the wild goose chase he'd sent them on was most definitely _not_ fun.

Tooth seemed confused. "Why would he do that?" she mumbled, glancing down for a moment before her head jolted back up. "He seemed like a good kid, and obviously he's well-respected in the town…."

There was the customary tinkling noise of sand moving as Sandy made images too quickly for Jack to even catch.

"Do you really think so?" Tooth asked breathlessly.

Jack sat back up, glancing around at the shocked faces. "What? What'd he say?"

"He said there's somethin' strange 'bout the kid," Bunnymund replied.

North nodded. "Then he must be green light." He stared around at the other four, a determined look on his face. "We must speak with him again."

Jack rolled his eyes, flopping onto the bed again. "How? The chief said we'd have to wait for him to come to us!"

"Same way we get you, Jack."

The teen shot back up, wide eyes locked on North. "No, you're not gonna seriously—?!"

But North was already busy talking to Bunny. "Go get sack and yetis!"

Jack just groaned as he fell backwards once more.

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Danny's few important belongings had been packed in only a couple minutes. He carried a single backpack, knowing that he could easily just buy new clothes or supplies wherever he wound up. Instead, he filled his bag with the few things he couldn't live without—well, as far as he was concerned, he couldn't.

He was walking past the door to grab one last thing when he heard the knock. This made him pause, frowning, as he attempted to figure out who would be brave enough to venture into his forest.

When the mysterious visitor knocked again, Danny groaned, moving to open the door. "What do you—?"

He was cut off as the giant rabbit outside shoved him into a sack carried by two yetis. "_Hey!_" he yelped. "Lemme go!"

The world around Danny went dark, then it was squeezing and pulling and spinning him around. He'd felt this twisting, drifting feeling before, when going through the Ghost Portals, back when they were running, but he could tell they hadn't changed dimensions, merely moved across the one they'd previously been in. He imagined this was similar to what Vlad felt when he teleported.

Danny quickly shook the man out of his head as the feeling stopped and the sack he was in was dropped to the ground. Light shone brightly through the opening, burning Danny's sensitive retinas before he could switch his reflexive night vision off. Slowly, he crawled out of the sack, staring around at the odd assortment assembled before him.

He had remembered what the Tooth Fairy, Sandman, and Easter Bunny looked like (and was currently quite ticked off at the Easter Bunny, thank you very much), and he was finally getting his first real look at Santa Claus and Jack Frost, the latter of whom seemed very happy to be out of the heat. This would've been an amusing gathering if not for one thing.

They had _kidnapped_ him. He didn't care who they were or what they stood for, they were going _down_.

Danny stared around at them for a moment more, noticing as they pushed Frost forward, probably thinking he'd be the best one to deal with a teen since he was one himself. Frost bent down, reaching out a hand to help Danny up. The black-haired teen took the hand, letting himself get pulled to his feet, then, once he had his balance, he struck, spinning to catch Frost in the side with his foot. There was a yelp as Frost fell back, but he simply tucked in and flipped back onto his feet, glaring at the giant rabbit who was laughing at him.

Which just served to attract Danny's wrath. He lunged at the rabbit, tackling him to the floor before the bunny was able to kick him off. He rolled with the blow, momentum carrying him over by the Tooth Fairy, who hadn't learned from Jack's mistake and tried to help the dark-haired teen up only to get thrown over his shoulder. By now, Santa had realized that their hostage was hostile and attempted to subdue him, drawing his swords strictly for the intimidation.

But Danny didn't respond well to intimidation. Instead, he twisted around the Russian and kicked out, dislodging one of the swords and plucking it out of the air to use for himself. The two swords clashed, all five Guardians surprised to see that this teen's strength matched even Nicholas St. North's.

Eventually, Danny tired of the stale mate and threw his foot into the man, landing a blow just below Santa's gut, which effectively knocked him out of the fight. The Sandman had finally begun to act, drawing up a ball of sand and readying his aim. A quick flick of the wrist sent the stolen sword flying at the golden man, causing him to fire wildly and hit Bunny, who had been lunging at the teen, instead. The giant rabbit collapsed in a heap, sand carrots and eggs floating above his head. The sword, meanwhile, was joined by its twin, trapping the Sandman in a corner until he could pull them from the walls.

It was down to the Tooth Fairy, Frost, and Danny. The teen faced off against the two, sliding gracefully into a defensive stance, one that Frost swore he recognized.

Tooth had finally realized this particular kid was a threat to her friends and dove at him, but he just sidestepped the attack, pivoting to keep both his opponents in sight. When the Tooth Fairy lunged again, he turned slightly and brought his hand down in a chop to the back of her neck.

She crumpled.

Danny spun to Jack, eyeing him warily. Jack just leaned against the wall, rotating his shoulders in a fluid shrug. "I'm not going to fight you, but you realize you'll have to muscle your way past hundreds of yetis as soon as you step out of this room, right?"

"I know," the teen stated, sounding unconcerned and refusing to drop his guard.

Jack sighed, then pushed off the wall. "Think you can play docile guest for the twenty minutes it'll take to leave?"

Danny's eyes narrowed. "You're helping me?"

Frost shrugged again. "I told them kidnapping you was a bad idea. I'd just wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

A smirk met the question. "I think you know. After all, you're the one who sent us on that wild goose chase."

Danny's glare came back with a vengeance. "Why were you looking for me?"

Jack's hands came up, palms out, in a gesture of surrender. "Easy, dude. We saw a green light on North's globe and were trying to figure out who or what made it."

"Light? What's so important about a light?"

"The lights show us who believes in us. Usually they're yellow, but yours was—"

"Green." Danny shrugged. "Couldn't help you there."

Now Jack was the one glaring. "That's a lie," he argued. "You know _exactly_ why your light's green!"

Danny matched Jack glare for glare. "You don't know _anything_ about me! You don't even know if I actually _am_ this stupid green light! Why the hell would you think _I'd_ know about it?!"

"Because you've already proven that you're hiding something by sending us on that detour while you tried to, what, run away?! You really thought we'd just _let_ you leave?"

"_No one's supposed to know!_" the boy exclaimed. The outburst even started the Sandman into pausing in his attempts to remove the swords. When Danny spoke again, it was at the complete opposite end of the volume spectrum. "No one can know about me. It's just… better that way."

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A/N: So, again, do NOT expect updates this quick. This was only because I had up to Bunny getting knocked out written before posting the first chapter. My buffer's now gone, so there will be delays from now on.

Anyways, yes, Danny just single-handedly took out all five Guardians. Pitch is currently _very_ jealous. Though, I suppose you could say he didn't technically beat Jack, he just argued him into submission. But given where he hit Santa, he'll be on the Naughty List for a good, long time.

Read and review, please!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi, please ignore the following rant. GAAAAAAAAAHHHH PEOPLEINMY APARTMENTNEEDTO STARTPAYINGTHEIRUTILITY BILLSONTIMEOR ISWEARIMIGHTKILLSOMEONE. ANDI'MTRYINGTO DOWAYYYTOOMUCHATONCE ANDINEEDTOSTOPDOINGSO MUCHANDSTARTFOCUSING ONMYCLASSESBEFORE IFRICKINGFAILMYCLASSES!

/endrant/

Ugh.

Anyways, there will probably be a delay between this and any other chapters posted for a little while. Yeah, I'm finally calling it. _**I'm going on a temporary hiatus.**_ I have to make sure I pass my classes this semester, and I'm trying to do too much. I've pretty much been constantly sick due to all the mess that's been going on this year, and something's got to give for a while. I'll be back come May, once finals finish, _**but until then, **__**please do not ask/demand updates!**_ This is honestly a hiatus strictly to get myself back to health and back in good academic standing. Seriously, guys, if I end up getting badgered about why I'm not updating, I may do something drastic like taking down stories, which I _really_ don't wanna do.

Sorry about all that, and this'll be up on my profile and twitter account ASAP, so, yes, this is for all my stories.

Just so you guys don't worry, I've still got ideas running for the stories I've got up, and I'll try to work on them sporadically, but they just won't be updated for a month or two. I'm not giving up on my stories, I just need to take a step back for a bit.

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When Tooth finally came to, she demanded that a room be made up for their guest for the night. Not even the reminder that it was _North's_ home rather than hers could deter her. They couldn't even get her to reconsider based on his rather violent reaction earlier.

And so Danny found himself sitting on a very soft, very large bed after having been forced to bathe and eat a huge feast the fairy had set up for him. He knew he should be grateful, but it was all too much for him. He'd spent _years_ trying to forget how it felt to be cared for, to have a bed and a hot meal waiting for him at home. Ever since—

No, he wouldn't think of… _that_. He shoved the thought roughly away, then refocused on his current task.

He was going to break out of the North Pole.

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It was almost depressing how easily he managed to escape. For all the defenses provided against intruders (Jack) getting in, none of the security yetis seemed to care about who got _out_. All Danny had had to do was just walk out the front door.

What _was_ a challenge was fighting his way past the blizzards of the North Pole and Santoff Claussen to head back to Kpalime for his things. Ghostly cryokinesis or no, he _had_ spent almost one hundred years by the equator and had grown unaccustomed to the extreme cold. But even that didn't delay him for long.

Soon enough, he was flying over the oceans and back to his forest, landing beside his home and entering—

Only to find destruction. Someone or something had torn through his home, shredding papers and pillows and blankets along the way. For a moment, he froze, staring around at the chaos before hissing out a "_no_" and rushing about the room. With each motion, his mantra got quicker, louder, until he was all but screaming, "_NonononoNO!_"

He dropped to his knees in the middle of his small home, fingers clawing into his hair as he tried to imagine what had done this, _who_ had done this, and why.

Why had they taken the pictures?

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Jack couldn't help it. He was literally rolling on the ground, laughing. And why wouldn't he? The faces the others were making were _hilarious!_

Bunny glared at Jack before turning back to North. "Can ya say that again, mate? I think we misheard ya."

North actually _huffed_, crossing his arms. "Boy ran away overnight. Yetis say he walked right out."

And another loud peal of laughter burst from Jack.

"B—But why would he run away?" Tooth wondered, flitting around anxiously. "Didn't he _like_ it here? We did our best to make him feel welcome!"

"After _kidnapping _him!" Jack put in, sitting up for the moment as his laughter faded. "Face it, even after another hundred years, you guys _still_ don't really know how to act around kids! Kidnapping freaks them out! Hell, anything with dark, enclosed spaces does!"

Images lit up over Sandy, first of the teen, then the standoff between him and North, and finally a question mark floating above PItch.

"Sandy has point," North declared. "Why did boy fight then, if he should've been scared?"

It was quiet for a moment, then Bunny spoke up. "Some kids don't have the best lives. They grow up thinkin' fightin'll solve their problems."

Jack bit his lip, knowing exactly what Bunny was referring to. About twenty years ago, one of Sophie's great-grandkids started getting into a bunch of trouble. The girl's mother had passed away, and her father got really sick. Then, the girl, Selena, had gotten addicted to a new, highly lethal drug. Bunny and Jack both had kept close tabs on the Bennett family over the years, and each tried to keep Selena healthy and off the streets. There were dozens of close calls before she finally got clean, sober, and settled down. In fact, it only happened after she'd found out she was pregnant at nineteen with no memory of who the father could possibly be. The girl had learned the hard way that in order to stay alive, you sometimes had to fight.

Tooth fluttered over to Bunny and Jack, hugging each. "You did all you could. Besides, hasn't she and her family moved to some small, quiet town?"

Jack nodded, Bunny murmuring, "Yeah, they're in Amity Park now."

The name sparked a memory for Jack. "Wait, Amity Park?"

"Yeah, Jack, they've been there since Ray was born, remember?"

"You remember who _else_ was in Amity Park?!" Jack exclaimed, hovering a bit higher in his excitement.

Bunny rolled his eyes, groaning while the others shook their heads sadly. "He's _gone_, Jack. Has been for _years_."

"He's a _ghost!_ Ghosts disappear, cottontail, that's what they _do!_ Who's to say he's not there now?"

"Jack, Amity Park hasn't been haunted since 2023. No ghosts in one hundred years. Why would there be any now?"

Jack sighed. "I don't know. Guess I was just hoping." Of course, he wasn't going to tell them _why_ he'd brought it up.

Imagine the weird looks he'd get if he said that the teen's fighting reminded him of Phantom's.

|2!53

Hidden away, deep underground, two red eyes locked onto a pair of haunting golden orbs.

"It's time.

A fanged smirk flashed into sight below the red eyes.

"They won't know what hit them."

|2!53

Danny had huddled into a corner of his home, clutching the one photo he'd found in the bag he'd packed earlier. It was taken nearly seventy years ago, the note on the back detailing the scene.

"_She had a granddaughter today. The baby looks just like her mom and grandma. Too bad you aren't here to see it, but this __does__ mark the second generation you've missed. Funny how Sam seems to be ahead of everyone else, but I doubt she'd have it any other way._

"_Don't worry, I'll keep you in the loop."_

It wasn't signed. None of them were ever signed, but they didn't have to be. Danny knew exactly who they were from.

And he hated that he had to depend on them for information on his own friends and family.

|2!53

Jack had, for once, not been up to anything. Okay, so he _might've_ been _contemplating_ his next prank on Bunny, but he wasn't actually _doing_ anything! In fact, he'd been sitting in the open window for the past three hours, using the height as an advantage to draw pictures in the snow with the wind, ever since the less-than-hopeful discussion about the missing ghost hero.

So, for once, when an explosion shook the workshop making North and Bunny scream at him, he could honestly yell back, "_I didn't do it!_" before flying down to see what the damage was.

He descended into chaos. And not the normal rush-to-complete-all-the-toys-before-Christmas chaos, either. The workshop had been overrun with horses made of glittering black sand.

Nightmares. Millions of them, all attacking at once.

And the Guardians were losing.

|2!53

Danny had forgotten exactly when he first began to see the yellow-eyed horse, but he knew it'd followed him for at least eighty years. At first, he'd been cautious, fearing it to be an enemy about to attack him, but after years of trying to hide from it, he found it to be a comfort to have around.

He'd even named it. Serenity seemed to fit the odd horse remarkably well, especially given her past as one of the boogeyman's fearlings.

Yes, Danny knew exactly where she came from. That was part of why he ran back then. He knew she was there to feed on his nightmares.

But she didn't leave when he woke up. She merely stayed, curled around him, and let him calm down before slinking back into the shadows.

And so it'd been ever since. She'd comfort him when his fears became too much and keep her fellows away to ensure the nightmares he had never got worse. As such, it was Serenity he searched for after he'd come out of his semi-catatonic state from finding all but the one picture gone.

Immediately, she came, curling around him to bring the only comfort she knew how to give. He still held the picture in his hands, but reached out his free arm to stroke the mythical horse. It was calm, peaceful, serene. Soft animal calls echoed around them in the woods, but none came near, which both were fine with. All they needed right now was each other. They were content.

And that's exactly how Pitch found them, lying, half-asleep, all alone in the woods. The teen still holding that lone picture, the image of peace.

Well, Pitch would just have to change that.

|2!53

A/N: Alright, read and review please. See y'all in May.

(And Kree, sorry about the delay, maybe we can work on more planning before I get back to posting? m(_ _)m )


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: First off, thanks, guys, _so much _for the support after last chapter! I've had some issues with being over emotional and stuff this semester, so it really helped to read all the supportive reviews. Thanks :D

But, I'm still snarky and in an annoying apartment situation, so this is coming to you live from the suckish home of a rather pissed off college student. Ignore the following rant if you like, but it does explain why I've been sorta non-existent in the posting realm for the past few months. (This story not included, since it's apparently been getting all my love lately…. I swear I'll work on the others soon, too.)

So, my apartment sucks, and I've been hunting for a new one, but due to my change of graduation date, it's nearly impossible to find a place that's the right length of time for me, lease-wise. At the same time, I'm trying to sublet my apartment, and I swear the landlords are trying to sabotage me. But I'm also paranoid, so who knows. Anyway, there's that, then obnoxious amounts of schoolwork all due at the same time, along with obnoxious exams, and long hours at work (which is counting as an internship), which I love, but duuude I wanna die after shifts 'cause I'm so tired, but instead I have to go home and get back to homework. I've been working on my stories as much as possible, but school's drained a lot of my creativity this semester, so there hasn't been much progress. In fact, most of the progress has been either in this story (which I write out during my lunch/dinner breaks at work) or on new story ideas since my ADD is on the fritz right now and causing me to keep jumping to new plotlines without finishing the old ones. I've come up with like three new ideas in the past month alone, and they'll eventually either be posted as teasers or put into my adoptable collection (please adopt them, I wanna see these ideas go somewhere if I can't do it myself).

Anyways. Story. Some explanations here, but also a lot more questions. So. Yeah.

Again, probably shouldn't expect more for another half a month or so (especially from this one, I'm trying to make sure I post for other stories first, since they've kinda gone neglected….).

|2!53

"I don't get it!" Jack yelled across the workshop as he blasted back a few dozen nightmares. More just took their place.

"Get what?!" Bunny called back, hopping just a bit closer to grab his spinning boomerangs.

"Why hasn't Pitch shown up yet?!"

If they weren't in the middle of a life-or-death battle, all the Guardians (and yetis, and elves—well, no, they did, anyway) would've paused at that.

Then, an all-too-familiar laugh echoed around the room.

Bunny glared over at Jack. "You just _had_ to mention it, didn'tcha, mate?"

"Silly rabbit," the obnoxious British accent echoed just like the laugh. "I'm not there because I'm not the one attacking."

There was some obvious confusion as the Guardians pointed out that it was Pitch's own monsters attacking.

"I've lent them out to a friend," the disembodied voice replied. "And may I just say, they've taken quite a liking to him…."

Another laugh rang out before the nightmares redoubled their efforts. Luckily, whoever was controlling them didn't know their strengths and weaknesses nearly as well as Pitch, and black sand was scattered _much_ more often than blood.

Still, the battle raged long and hard before, finally, the last of the nightmares retreated and the Guardians had won.

The five gathered in the middle of the Globe Room as the yetis (and the elves, but mostly the yetis) began to clean up.

"Who could have joined with Pitch?" Tooth mumbled after a long pause.

"Coulda been Hal," Bunny grumbled, crossing his arms.

Jack rolled his eyes. "You're just mad that he tricked you last year on Halloween. And you were _asking_ for it!"

"Jack, have you heard complaints from seasonal spirits?" North demanded, trying to narrow down on who, exactly, their new enemy was.

White hair flopped about as Jack shook his head. "We've all been happier than ever with the weather extremes increasing over the years. Warmer summers, colder winters, rainier springs, windier falls. No complaints."

North frowned. "Then who—?"

Sandy leapt up between them all, sand fireworks exploding over his head to catch their attention. Once the other four were blinking at him, he made a sand-Pitch, plus sign, and a book.

"Pitch and a book?" Bunny asked skeptically.

Sandy shook his head rapidly, making an arrow to point at the book, which grew larger.

Jack blinked. "A long book… a novel?"

Sandy pointed at Jack, nodding happily.

"Novel… novel means new, right?" Jack thought out. "Someone new teamed up with Pitch!"

"But… there haven't been any new spirits in a long, _long_ time," Tooth mumbled.

"Maybe… it is not spirit," North replied. "It is something new."

Bunny was the next to catch on. "Somethin' we don't know how to fight."

|2!53

"Well, isn't this _sweet?_"

Danny startled awake, blinking up at the gray-toned man before him. Serenity snorted lowly, annoyed that her master had finally found her again after all these years.

"It seems one of my mares has found a little treat all her own!" Pitch Black chuckled, glancing between the two. "And what a _delicious_ treat you must be, Daniel Fenton."

Danny winced slightly at the name, not having heard it spoken aloud in almost a century.

"Or, I'm sorry, should I call you _Danny Phantom?_"

Now he flinched back as if struck, his alias sending a wave of powerful emotions through him, almost none good. But above all, and Pitch knew this as he always did, was _fear_. Fear of the past, fear for his family and friends, fear for the future, fear of failure—

Fear of it happening again.

Danny clung even tighter to his last remaining picture, hugging it to his chest.

And bringing it to Pitch's attention.

"Oh?" he said. "What's this?" Then he slunk into the shadows cast by the multitude of trees in the forest, snatching the photo away from Danny and echoing around him. "A picture? Oh, and of the Manson family, too! Well, this must be from, oh, the 2090's or so? What a _beautiful_ little girl! And I do remember her mother and grandmother well. Such _delightful_ fear in Samantha—"

"Shut up!" Danny screeched, clapping his hands over his ears.

"—_especially_ since the New Years' Bombings."

Serenity curled tighter around Danny as he hissed out, "_Stop it!_" at the Nightmare King.

Of course, this sort of reaction only spurred him on further. "What?" Pitch asked, barely smothering his smirk. "Oh, I'm _sorry_, did I bring up a bad memory?" He frowned. "But I would've thought you'd _like_ hearing about your wife. After all, you haven't seen her _or_ your family in, what, a _century?_" Pitch shook his head, tsking. "Shame on you! What sort of father runs off five months before his daughter is even _born?_"

Danny recoiled back into Serenity, tucking his knees up under his chin and squeezing his eyes shut as his arms latched around his legs.

"Of course, it would've been _hard_ on you, wouldn't it? Watching your wife and daughter grow old over the years while you stayed the same, preserved forever as you were that day you stepped into the Portal. I suppose I would've run, too, rather than try to figure out how to explain that to my daughter. But you still could've _spoken_ to them! Didn't they at least deserve _that?_" Pitch gasped mockingly. "Did your wife even know you _survived_ the bombing?"

Danny grimaced, burying his face in his knees, starting to shake.

Pitch smirked. "Seems she _didn't_. Pity. You let your wife give birth thinking herself to be a widow while you ran off to _hide!_"

The teen flinched, edging his face further into his knees. The shaking grew to near-epileptic proportions.

"And yet, even after all those years of thinking you dead, she _still_ remained faithful. She didn't even _date_ after your so-called _death!_" Pitch glared down at the boy, picture clenched in his fingers. "She was a better person than you _ever_ were, _hero_," he spat, adjusting his grip on the stolen photo. Now, he held a corner in each hand.

"You don't _deserve_ this picture."

Danny had just looked up when Pitch twisted his hands away from each other, rending the image in two.

And Danny's world _stopped_.

|2!53

The Guardians were still panting heavily when they reconvened in the Globe Room. North had had the others head to their homes to gather supplies to stay at the Pole, stating that it would probably be best to remain together until they found out who had teamed up with Pitch.

Now, they passed off their things to the yetis to put them in their respective rooms as North brought their attention back to the issue at hand.

"We must learn who new threat is."

Bunny huffed, crossing his arms. "How d'ya expect us to find _that_ out? All we know is Pitch lent 'im the nightmares!"

"So we look for where nightmares are," North said simply.

Sandy shook his head, waves of sand flashing quickly overhead. Jack managed to translate, drawing from prior knowledge and experience. "A few nightmares always slip past Sandy's defenses. They're everywhere."

"Well that's jus' _great!_" Bunny exclaimed, rolling his eyes and throwing his hands in the air. "Our only lead's a dud!"

"I wouldn't say _only_ lead," Tooth murmured, hovering by the globe and staring at something on it.

The others glanced up at her. "What? What is it?"

"The green light's back. It's in Tueur's forest."

|2!53

Pitch didn't _need_ to stick around after sending Danny into a catatonic state, but the fear was just too delicious to leave. Instead, he perched in a shady tree, far out of sight of the ground below but close enough to still taste the fear. It was no wonder his mare abandoned him, she'd _never_ go hungry if she continued to feed off the boy!

However… Pitch had noticed the light creeping into her eyes, a silver light that shone deep inside and just at the edges. The boy was changing her, not back into a dream, but to something else entirely.

Pitch sighed, knowing what he would need to do to stop it.

He always _did_ hate putting down his mares.

|2!53

The world was frozen, stiff as ice, unchanging as one of Clockwork's screens paused. Nothing and no one, not even time itself, could penetrate the unmoving bubble around Danny. Serenity barely even managed, but still, she curled around him as she always did, offering her normal post-nightmare comfort. It didn't do much, given Danny's state, but he still subconsciously leaned into her.

Which was probably why the Guardians freaked out so much upon finding them.

Well, okay, Jack didn't, but North, Tooth, and Bunny stirred up a ruckus while Sandy tried to get a closer observation.

"It's _him?_" Bunny yelped, pointing at the boy and mare.

"He is working with Pitch?!" North added, readjusting his grip on his swords.

Tooth's hands covered her mouth as she gasped. "No wonder he fled from the Pole! He _knew_ the attack was coming!"

Jack just sighed, remembering a similar moment on Easter about a century ago. "Um, guys? Don't you think you're—?"

"We must take him back to Pole!" North declared. "For interrogation!"

"—overreacting…." Jack grumbled to himself as the other three dragged the unresponsive boy from the mare, who began kicking up a fuss of her own until Bunny made Sandy knock her out.

All five were shocked when the Dreamweaver couldn't simply change her back into a dream. Instead of the mare turning gold and becoming whatever image Sandy dreamt up, the gold and black seemed to blend together, both colors fading out and leaving her looking like—

"Ice?" North wondered.

"Oi, Frostbite," Bunny complained, "quit messin' around and let Sandy do his job!"

Jack just shook his head. "It's not me. And it's not ice."

"Are you sure?" Tooth asked, looking skeptical.

Jack deadpanned back at her, "I think I know ice when I see it."

She blushed.

Jack looked back to the mare. "This isn't ice. It's something else."

"So, he is making nightmares into something else," North stated, scowling. "Something more dangerous."

"What?" Jack blinked at the leap in logic.

"We'd better get him back to the Pole 'fore he spreads it even more," Bunny suggested.

"No, that's—"

"Yes, let's head back," Tooth agreed. "It'll give us the chance to study what changes have occurred and hopefully keep him from attacking again."

Jack just sighed, realizing they weren't listening to him any more. He rolled his eyes as they jumped to conclusions, Sandy shrugging apologetically at him as they all climbed (or in Danny's case, were dragged) back into the sleigh.

No one noticed the chuckle from the tree tops as they left.

|2!53

Pitch faded out of the shadows in his lair, smirking over at his partner. "This is even _better_ than planned," he boasted.

Red eyes flicked over to him from where their owner sat, stroking a nightmare's mane. "Oh? How so?"

Pitch's smirk grew wider. "I paid a visit to your little _friend_. Seems he had gotten rather attached to one of my mares, as well."

Fangs flashed as the other man grinned. "Yet another thing we seem to share."

"And even better," Pitch continued, "was that the Guardians _saw_ him with the mare."

Red eyes blinked at Pitch, the hand stalling over the sand-mane. "They…?" Then, an evil grin spread across his face. "Oh, those Guardians are even _more_ gullible than you said! They actually believe _he's_ the one helping you?"

Pitch chuckled at the man's expression, knowing already what he was thinking. "They do, indeed. They've even taken him in for interrogations!"

A dark laugh reverberated out from the man. "Seems we've gotten them to do our dirty work for us. Who knew it would be so easy to tackle both at once?"

The Nightmare King grinned. "I always knew the Guardians were quick to judge, but this couldn't have _possibly_ turned out better. With them thinking Danny's my new accomplice—"

"They'll never even _think_ to expect _me._"

|2!53

A/N: Three guesses as to who Pitch's partner is! No, seriously, I wanna hear who y'all think it is. He'll probably be revealed next chapter. Maybe.

Also, the whole paragraph about Danny and Sam being married and having a daughter? Wrote itself. I was going to leave it ambiguous, but then Pitch just had to be a complete jackass. Oh, well, it got me more angst, so win-win. :D Just not for Danny.

And, yes, the New Years' Bombings. They shall be important. I'd love to see theories, but I already have it planned out (mwahahaha). And to the friend who helped me plan it, NO SPOILERS! Not that you would :3

So, yeah, read and review, see you in a few weeks. I'm off to do laundry and work on homework. Yay…. -.-;


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: So, hiatus over, but I do have a summer class and work still, so updates will be back to fairly infrequent rather than temporarily suspended. Also, many OCs are introduced in this one. They are fairly important, but shouldn't take over the spotlight too terribly much. Had to be done in this, sorry.

|2!53

Jack skipped out on the whole interrogation thing. He already knew they wouldn't get anything out of the kid, let alone anything helpful, so he decided some spy work was in order.

So he flew back to Danny's home in the forest. Bunnymund had already told them that the place was barely more than a hut, but Jack didn't expect the inside to be as bare as the outside. There were no pictures on the walls or posters or paintings. Not even a calendar could be seen, and the "bed" was a mere mat rolled out on the floor. A small desk was off in one corner, but the strangest thing was the utter _destruction_ in the room.

The pillow and blanket that must've lain over the mat were torn to shreds, feathers and stuffing and fabric strewn about wildly. Papers that had been ripped into confetti covered the desk. And a backpack sat by the door, clothing spilling out from the opening.

"Whoa," Jack mumbled to himself. Either the kid was angrier about getting taken to the North Pole than he thought, or—

Or something else had done this. That thought cemented Jack's determination to find out what had caused the mess, and he dove into the room, meticulously picking through the piles of rubbish.

He found nothing until he reached the desk. Buried under mounds of torn paper was a folder. Jack debated for a moment whether to take it straight to the Guardians or peek first, but eventually his curiosity won out. He flipped open the folder, staring down at… pictures.

Lots of them. All of children or families, but none of the teen himself. For a while, Jack just flipped through, assuming the teen had taken the pictures himself.

Until he saw an all-too-familiar brunette boy. "Kyle?" he murmured, staring at the picture of Jamie Bennett's great-great-grandson. The boy looked almost exactly like Jack's first believer, even down to the gap-toothed smile he sported as his older sister (who was drenched in the photo) glared at him for nailing her with the water gun he hid behind his back. The only difference was the eyes. Where Jamie's had been hazel, Kyle took after his mother's side of the family, sporting vibrant violet eyes. Charlie, Kyle's sister, was the opposite, having Jamie's eyes and her mother's raven-black hair. The family also joked that she'd inherited her great-great-grandmother's infamous death glare, one that Jack, thankfully, had never been on the receiving end of. There was a reason she and her brother were never bullied in school—all the bullies were terrified of her.

Further flipping through the folder revealed more kids, all hanging out with Kyle and Charlie. Jack was surprised to find he recognized three other kids—Sky, Ray, and Luna, Selena's children. He blinked, realizing the connection.

All these kids were from Amity Park. This was the second time in as many days that the small town had come up. It only served to remind him of the crazy theory he'd had the other day—and wonder if it was really crazy at all.

"You really _are_ tied to Amity Park," he murmured, "but _how?_"

After all, there had to be a reason he had all these pictures. He couldn't be a cousin of the kids, seeing as none of Jamie or Sophie's descendants moved to Africa. In fact, they'd all stayed state-side.

So why did Danny have pictures of them?

|2!53

The Guardians had dropped Danny in a room, with yetis stationed both inside and out (one even stood outside the window, just in case) under strict orders to keep the boy in place until they returned to question him. As head of security, Phil was put in charge and stayed in the room himself.

Meanwhile, the Guardians took the white nightmare—could it even be called a nightmare any more—to another room to study. Once more, the mare put up a fight over leaving the teen. Still, they got her there and hitched her to a makeshift stall.

"I don't get it," Bunny mumbled. "Nightmares don't just… _change_. Least, not inta somethin' other than dreams."

North ventured forward to brush a hand against the mare's flank—staying far from the teeth and hind legs, just in case—and his eyes went wide. "Is not sand," he gaped.

"What?" Bunny and Tooth were equally shocked. Sandy, who had already noticed that oddity, merely nodded.

"Is… liquid. Fluid, but thicker than water." North moved his hand away, revealing the next strange occurrence.

The flank was suddenly a different size and shape. The barrel of the horse had morphed, still remaining silver, but becoming more canine in appearance. Even the liquid had changed to mimic fur rather than a horse's hair.

Soon, the change spread through the entire animal, muzzle shortening and ears lengthening, neck filling out more on the sides and shrinking down, the whole body losing about a foot of height. Hooves became paws, and the tail puffed up, fluffing out by the rump but tapering to a point.

In front of them, unrestrained now due to the leads falling off the smaller muzzle, was a silver fox, staring at them with eyes that seemed to glow.

And as those eyes locked with each of the Guardians', a voice echoed through their minds.

_Give me back my boy._

|2!53

So, okay, maybe it was a little rash to have decided to blow off the Guardians, even more to do so without telling them or explaining, well, _anything_, really, but Jack needed answers first. So, he gathered up all the pictures in the folder and took off, asking the wind to take him to Amity Park.

He blew over the bustling town—no longer the small suburb it had been during the ghost attacks of the early 2000s—dragging snow along behind him to give a light dusting to the area. School had just ended, so hundreds of kids flocked into the snow-covered fields to play.

Jack chuckled, both at the students and at the staff, who were scratching their heads over where the sudden snowfall had come from. Stumping the adults was always fun, especially if he'd known them as kids, too.

"Jack!" a voice cried out. The call was taken up by many who heard it, and for a moment, Jack closed his eyes, reveling in the fact that people _believed_ in him, they _saw_ him.

Then he flew down to the one who'd started the chanting, coming face to face with Kyle Bennett. "Hey, kiddo."

Kyle grinned. "Jack! I thought you said you'd be in Russia 'til next month!"

Jack chuckled. "I was, but I needed to talk to you, your sister, and your cousins."

Kyle's brow furrowed a bit. "Okay, but why?" Then his smile came back and his violet eyes widened. "Is there some secret Guardian stuff you need us to do?"

"Ah—sorta," Jack replied.

"Cool!" Kyle exclaimed before Jack could continue. "I'll go get them!" The boy ran off.

Jack just shook his head, always amused by the hyperness that ran in Jamie's family. Within minutes, Kyle was dragging his sister behind him, along with five others—only three of which were the cousins Jack had asked him to get.

"Woah, you didn't need to bring the whole playground, kiddo," Jack teased.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "These are Zach and Benji. They're friends."

The older one, Benji, turned to stare at Charlie. "I thought you said Kyle was past the imaginary friend stage," the ginger-haired boy stated.

"He is, Benji. Shut up," Charlie snapped back before grinning at the winter spirit. "Hey, Jack. Don't mind Benji, he takes after his dad's side of the family as the black sheep."

"In a family of paranormal scientists and believers of the supernatural, yes. I _prefer_ the _true_ sciences," Benji stated proudly, ice blue eyes sparkling.

"Charlie says we're distant cousins like three or four generations back," Kyle whispered to Jack. "I don't believe her, though. How can we be related to someone so _lame?_"

A blonde girl punched Kyle in the shoulder. "Don't be such a brat, Kyle," the thirteen-year-old declared, bright blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "You're supposed to insult Benji to his _face_, not behind his back!"

Jack shook his head, chuckling at the girl, who was just a little _too_ influenced by him. "Sky, still as sweet as ever, I see."

She just grinned back at him. The dark-skinned boy beside her glanced at Jack, confused. "Why'd you want to see us?" he asked. "Kyle just mentioned something about Guardians?"

"Right," Jack said, getting back on track. He pulled the folder out from his hoodie pocket and started to dig through it again as he spoke. "I found this today, and thought I'd ask you guys about this." He held out a picture that showed the whole group. "Do you guys remember who could've taken this?"

Charlie took the picture, causing Benji to blink in shock over its sudden appearance. Her brow furrowed. "No, I don't think anyone I saw that day had a camera." She glanced back at Jack. "Where'd you find this?"

"A little hut in Africa," he stated bluntly. "And there are more." He handed over the whole folder, letting Charlie flip through it with the others crowding around her. For a while, all seven were simply confused as they looked through, then Benji gaped at one of the images.

"That's… that's my dad," he whispered, "back when he was Kyle's age."

And suddenly, all of them were realizing that they were looking at pictures of their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents….

Except for Sky, Ray, and Luna. The three blondes were frowning—well, not Luna, but she rarely did—as more and more pictures were revealed. Benji was the first to notice.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Luna's pale green eyes blinked up at him. "We don't have relatives in them," she said breathily.

Now, Benji and Charlie were frowning, too, trying to think why only four of them had relatives shown in the pictures. Kyle and Zach continued to flip through, gasping at a picture towards the back. "Charlie, she's got your glare," Zach declared.

"And the other one has Benji's hair," Kyle added.

The oldest two looked back at the pictures, immediately seeing the connections. "That's our great-great-grandmother," Charlie stated, taking the perfectly preserved pictures into her hands.

"And great-grandma Jazz," Benji said, pointing at the redhead. "Her brother was married to your great-great-grandma. That's how we're related—distantly."

Kyle looked at it for a moment longer, then stated, "Why are they sad?"

Sky, Ray, Zach, and Benji blinked in shock. "They don't look sad," Ray exclaimed. "Your grandma looks angry!"

Kyle shook his head. "That's Charlie's I'm-sad-but-don't-want-to-show-it glare. She's sad, just like Jazz."

Charlie nodded. "Given their ages and emotions, this must be from after the New Years' Bombings back in '23."

"That's next year, Charlie," Kyle corrected.

Benji shook his head, answering before Charlie could, "No, she means _20_23, not _21_23. You'll learn about it in history class in a few years. Basically, there was a terrorist threat to Los Angeles, so the government sent in their best team to find and disable the bombs, but they got there too late. The bombs started going off, and they called in back-up, but the agent in charge of the group accidentally tripped a wire and the building they were in blew up."

"They say it took three days to declare Los Angeles safe enough to start trying to send in rescue teams," Charlie continued, "but it took another two years for people to move back in. They were terrified that it would happen again."

"They never recovered the bodies of the agents, though," Benji finished. "They just… disintegrated in the blast."

"That was in '23?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Charlie replied. "Why?" Benji was blinking in Jack's direction, looking confused.

"That was the same year the ghosts left Amity Park. The year Phantom disappeared."

|2!53

A/N: Okay, sorry about the lack of Danny. And Pitch. And his partner. They'll turn up again next time. But at least now you have the (almost) full story of the New Years' Bombings?

Please read and review. I'm off to work on the next chapter of Living with the Chills.


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